In a geopolitical context that is more uncertain than ever, the Russian military invasion of Ukraine on February 24th casts a threatening shadow over the entire world, particularly in terms of the digital economy, on which the pressures exerted are growing.
Posted yesterday at 10:00 a.m.
Cyberattacks from Russia are likely to multiply and intensify, particularly targeting Ukraine’s Western allies, including Canada. Polytechnique Montréal professors and experts take the threat seriously and invite the scientific cybersecurity community to mobilize on this new front.
After imposing sanctions on Russia, Western countries fear reprisals in the form of cyberattacks, while Ukraine has already been the victim. The Russian president notably warned the international community that any attempt by other countries to interfere in Russian action would lead to “consequences that they have never seen”. Russia has demonstrated its capabilities to wage cyber warfare. The examples of cyberattacks carried out by Russia against other countries are there to confirm this. Already in 2015 and 2016, the BlackEnergy and Industroyer attacks, which made Ukrainian power plants unavailable, showed the effectiveness of cyberattacks. Since the beginning of the year, cyberattacks against Ukraine have multiplied and the current Russian offensive is accompanied by an unprecedented use of cybernetic weapons.
Become aware of the threat
The forms that this cyberwar can take are many, the best known being data exfiltration, denial of service, fraud or even sabotage. Quebec and Canada are not immune to this threat which, although less tangible and visible, is no less dangerous. It goes without saying that our geographical remoteness does not come into play when it comes to cyber threats.
Cyberwars are a weapon all the more effective as the precise origin of the attack is often difficult to establish. All sectors are potential targets for cyberattacks, including critical infrastructure.
Polytechnique Montréal researchers are actively working to implement solutions and innovations to help Quebec and Canadian institutions deal with cyber threats. The institution has developed strong expertise in the fields of cybersecurity and cyberresilience – the ability to resist a cyberattack – of critical infrastructures in the financial sectors (through a research chair, with Desjardins and BNC), supply chain (through the Critical research program, with SystemX), defense (through a project in partnership with Rheinmetall and Concordia University), maritime (through a project with Davie and Neptune Cyber) and aeronautics (including Bombardier, Carillon, IATA and Collins Aerospace).
Mobilization at the heart of solutions
Today, more than ever, a general mobilization of all resources is essential to deal with cyberattacks. There is an urgent need to federate and coordinate cybersecurity expertise at the industrial, university and government levels in Quebec. It is necessary that we all mobilize to raise the level of protection, strengthen the means of detection, ensure the resilience of our critical infrastructures in the event of an attack, but also raise awareness among the entire population of the risks of cyberattacks and of their potential impacts.
We can only welcome the recent creation of the new Ministry of Cybersecurity and Digital within the Government of Quebec, which could play a leading role in this mobilization of players in this sector.
Canada has also demonstrated its commitment to addressing cybersecurity challenges through research and development, innovation and training. To help institutions and businesses across the country manage cyber threats, the Government of Canada announced on February 17 $76.4 million in funding over four years for the National Consortium for cybersecurity (CNC). This consortium worked in collaboration with more than 140 researchers, including 28 from Polytechnique Montréal.
We must continue this mobilization in order to ensure national cybersecurity.